A once-powerful Montana mining town warily awaits final cleanup of its toxic past

“Butte, Montana, has paid its dues. We deserve to have this place cleaned up right,”

High above this storied copper town, one of the tallest earth-filled dams in the country holds back more than 6.5 trillion gallons of toxic sludge from an open-pit mine.

The dam is set to grow even taller. Yet it is the least of Butte’s immediate concerns.